It is previously known to provide an articulated truck such as a dumper having a front vehicle module pivotally connected about a vertical pin to a rear vehicle module, usually a load bearing bin supported by several axles where the rear vehicle module axles are arranged at a distance from the vertical pin, and the front vehicle module has a front wheel axle arranged at a considerably shorter distance from the vertical pin.
This arrangement allows such trucks to have smaller turning radii then those that have a steered axle, for the same length vehicle. As such they are particularly useful in situations such as in underground mines and are the preferred vehicle for hauling ore in underground mines where the tunnels may be quite tight. Typically tunnels have a 5.5 meter cross-sectional size and 6 meter square cut corners (90 degrees).
Typical underground articulated trucks have a front module housing an engine that drives wheels both in the front module and the bin so as to provide the greatest traction. Yet to provide power to both the front module and the bin requires complex drivelines. In addition the speed and weight carrying ability of an underground articulated truck is always related to the power of the engine. Thus there is generally an upper limit to the capacity that an articulated underground truck can deliver in terms of speed, weight and grade of the road.